Visiting Gagauzia

That was a day when Hanna was repeating all the time: “GAGA GAGA”. So our destination was clear: Gagauzia, another autonomous region of Moldova, when Christian Turks are living.

Gagauzia means 3 towns and 27 villages in 3 districts of southern Moldova. People there are Turkish-speaking, Christian ethnic minority who was settled from north-east Balkans by car Alexander I during Russian-Turkish war in 1806-11. They could settle in the region only for their conversion into Christianity.

Gagauzia has its own flag (blue, white and red stripes with 3 white stars), own police, own newspapers and university and most of tobacco crop and grapes in whole Moldova.

It’s more less autonomous region but subordinate to Moldova constitutionally and for foreign relations and defense.

What we liked the most there was cartoon-like sweet donkeys (but that can be because we are from big cities!). Lenin in the capital Comrat and Gagauz museum in Besalma (the most old-school, soviet propaganda museum I have ever seen!) were not so impressing.

“They could settle in the region only for their conversion into Christianity.” sorry but it is not true! We always was Christians! Turkish peaple with Islamic religion was a problem for us, we moved to Bulgaria! Bulgaria wanted to asimilate us. After that some gagauzian people moved in greace, but majoruty moved into moldova! And it is all happened because of religion and cultural differences!